Lord of Prayer

—The Book of the Dead!

Seeing the profane title that had appeared on the book’s cover, Zhou Chen couldn’t help but be taken aback. ’So this is the Forbidden Ancient Book’s real name?’

He focused his gaze, studying it closely. Even with the Book of the Dead lying dormant, he could still feel the immense Darkness contained within it. It was like a blasphemous vessel filled to the brim with Abyssal Essence, exuding an aura of madness and evil that was deeply unsettling.

’But why did the Book of the Dead, which had been struggling so violently, suddenly fall silent?’

When Zhou Chen carefully extended his senses, his expression turned to one of utter shock and astonishment.

A Soul Link…

After the Spirit of the End—which had originated from the Book of the Dead—was utterly annihilated, body and Soul, and after the hundreds of thousands of Souls imprisoned within the book were purified and released, the Book of the Dead was left with no consciousness to speak of. It had reverted to an inanimate object. Thus, Zhou Chen’s Soul, which was temporarily in a state of erosion by the Abyss, had naturally become the Book of the Dead’s new master.

’So that’s why the Book of the Dead stopped resisting…’

’Incredible! Doesn’t this count as a success for the Spirit of the End, in a way?’

Zhou Chen’s expression became complicated.

After some careful consideration, he decided to keep the Book of the Dead. Although the book was inherently evil, it had now lost all its intelligence. As long as he disciplined it a little, it shouldn’t be a big problem. And even if something went wrong, he had more than enough confidence to handle it.

In fact, it was a stable Artifact of corruption. If he handled it with care, he could achieve an epic-level enhancement, the kind where ’going dark makes you stronger’.

Furthermore, the Book of the Dead also recorded the secrets of the Abyss, which would be helpful for his future research.

After quickly clearing the corruption from his Soul, Zhou Chen withdrew the Power of the Round Table Hall. But the very next second after the white mist dissipated, the Book of the Dead trembled violently. A bloody eyeball opened once more on its pitch-black cover.

The Book of the Dead flipped open on its own. The scrawled characters on its pages resembled evil scriptures carved by an Abyss-worshipping Cult sorcerer in a strange, gloomy cave. They were not only incomprehensible but also emanated a vile, blasphemous aura.

Symbols and characters originating from Hell squirmed ceaselessly, stretching wantonly in hideous forms. They were like a metaphor for the world’s most ancient and evil Curse, like slithering, twisted black snakes crawling over one’s mind, constantly devouring sanity.

A buzzing sound filled Zhou Chen’s mind as countless crazed, fragmented chants rose in a cacophony. That was…

Knowledge!

Vast knowledge, indescribable knowledge, forbidden knowledge that the world could not comprehend was frantically trying to cram itself into his mind!

Zhou Chen decisively drew upon the Power of the Round Table Hall once again to suppress it. The effect was immediate. The annoying whispers vanished abruptly, the Book of the Dead snapped shut, and the eyeball on its cover disappeared, leaving it in dead silence.

After a brief silence, Zhou Chen withdrew the white mist.

Sensing that its natural enemy—the power that intimidated it—was gone, the Book of the Dead began to open again. But just as it was halfway open, the departing white mist transformed into a vast torrent and rushed back. At the critical moment, the Book of the Dead slammed on the brakes, hastily stopping its action midway and snapping shut.

Zhou Chen tried this a few more times and discovered that the Book of the Dead seemed to be executing some kind of mechanical action. As soon as the Power suppressing it disappeared, it would begin to corrode the user’s Soul, trying to make their sanity fall into the dark Abyss.

This was logical, after all. The Book of the Dead was an Abyssal Creature; Twist and corruption were its normal state. What it surely favored was a Dark Soul that had fallen to the Abyss.

’Such a pain to deal with…’ A thought flashed through Zhou Chen’s mind, and he made a wish in a deep voice:

“I wish to completely sever any possibility of the Book of the Dead ever developing a consciousness of its own.”

“I wish for a chain that can seal the Book of the Dead.”

Wish-fulfilling energy, as brilliant as a sky full of stars, surged from the Wish Bottle, forming a beautiful and magnificent galaxy in his Spiritual World. A portion of this energy transformed into a sharp blade that pierced the very essence of the Book of the Dead, completely eradicating any possibility of its consciousness regenerating and turning it into a cold, inanimate object for all eternity.

Another vast portion of the energy solidified into a resplendent chain shimmering with starlight. The Hammer of Casting appeared and struck the chain with a mighty blow. A great thunderclap rolled out as an immense divine light burst forth, bestowing upon the chain a qualitative transformation.

With the grinding of steel, the brilliant starlight chain wrapped around the Book of the Dead, forming layer upon layer of restraints that bound it tightly shut.

For what felt like the dozenth time, Zhou Chen withdrew the white mist. This time, the Book of the Dead showed no signs of strange activity, firmly sealed by the starlight chain.

After confirming there were no more problems, Zhou Chen’s consciousness returned to reality. He looked toward the center of the pure white hall at the thrumming, operating Eternal Life Machine.

’It’s time to end all this.’

A heavy, crimson iron hammer materialized in his hand. Zhou Chen walked up to the Eternal Life Machine and swung the hammer down. The Matrix Barrier enveloping the machine silently crumbled, its fragments evaporating into light.

With a second swing, a crimson light crashed down. Accompanied by the sorrowful wail of metal, the core of the Eternal Life Machine burst apart in a thunderous explosion, sending burning steel fragments flying in all directions.

What followed was complete and utter silence.

The vast temporal energy originating from New Era Year 174 ceased to be.

「Meanwhile, at the other end of time and space, New Era Year 234.」

Lead-colored storm clouds blanketed the chaotic city as lightning danced like wild silver snakes. A torrential downpour rained down upon the mortal world.

The cold December rain could numb a person’s fingers, but on the rooftop, Yang remained perfectly still in an optimal sniper’s stance. His heart pounded vigorously, pumping hot blood to warm his entire body and keeping him in peak condition.

The battle in the laboratory below had grown increasingly brutal, with both sides suffering heavy losses. The downpour washed over the blood-soaked ground, and the burning Fiery Fire illuminated the dense sheets of rain in the night.